Improved electro-magnetic house-alarm



UNITED STATES v PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WRITING, on ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS. y l

IMPROVED ELCTRO- MAGNETIC HOUSE'ALARM.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,9170,vdated July 20,1858.

To all whom it may concern.- Y

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WHI'IING, counselor at law, yof R'oXbury inthe county of Norfolk and State ot' Massachusetts, have invented a newand usefulImprovement in Electro-Magnetic House-Alarms, ot' which theinghouse with my improved Aapparatus at-I tached. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection through' the room, showing the indicating and alarm apparatus inelevation. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and. 7, details, to be referred tohereinafter.

I am aware that an apparatus has beenv ein,r ployed as a burglar-alarmin which asinglc electric circuit was employed in connection with thewindows and doors of a building', and so arranged that the opening ot'any one of them should close the circuit and sound `an alarm. Suchapparatus, however, furnished no indication of the whereabout of thewindow or door so opened, and the proprietorwas left to Search th-roughthe whole house for the intruder, who was himself perhaps alarmed, andenabled to escape. y

My invention has for its object to produce a house-alarm which shalllnot only alarm the proprietor or guardian of the house on the'intrusionof a burglar, but shall at the saine time indicate to him the part ofthe house attacked, that his attention may be immediately directed` tothe particular room where an entry has been attempted or e'ected; andthis I accomplish by the employmenty of a Series of electromagneticcircuits (one for each distinct room or portion ofthe house to beguarded) in connecf tion with an indicator for indicating the portion ofthe house attackcdand with an alarm apparatus for sounding the alarm,the doors and windows of the housebeing soconnected with the circuitsthat the'opening of any one of them shall close or break. thecircuitwith which it is connected, cause the alarm to be sounded, andindicate upon the indicator/.the particular room assailed.

That others skilled in theart may understand and use InyinventiomyWillproceed to describe Athe manner in which I have carried the sameinto effect. y

In the drawings, B is the indicator, which is placed in anyV convenientposition in the house to be protected, (as in the sleeping-room oftheproprietor.) It is here shown attached tothe Wallof the room. Itconsists of a board to which are secured-the electroanagnets l, 2, 3, 4,5, and 6, there being one magnet for each indicating-circuit. Theoperation of all being similar, but one will be described.

I'may here remark that each circuit of wires may protect a single windowor door," or a singieA room or entry. The latter plan is the one hererepresented. j

Near the indicator, in any convenieutplace, is secured a shelf, C, whichsupports the alarm apparatus. This consists of an electro-magnet, F, thearmature of which, as the magnet is made by the closing ofthe circuit ofits battery, operates thehammer of a b ell, andcauses it to ring so longas its circuit remains closed and its battery continues in operation.This ringing is accomplished by a Well-known device, ot' inserting asmall piece of a non-conducting snbstancein avibrating arm connectedwith the arma-ture, one of the wires lof the' battery being incontactwith the-arm, and the arm bein gconnected with one end of the coil; butas the method of ringing the hell forms no part of my presentinvention,.it .need not be more fully described. v

A battery, D, which opera-tes the alarm apparatus, and a battery, E,which operates the indicator and the indicatif] g-circuits, are placedin any convenient andsecuresituation. From one pole of the battery D theWire aleads to .the bellmagnet F, and from this magnet anotherwire, c2,leads to a piece of metal, b, secured to the board of the indicator B.vTo this piece bis plvoted, atc, the armature j' ot' the magnet l of theindicator. From the opposite polevot' the battery D the wire d leads toa hook or staple, at e,- on the indicatorboard, against which thearmature f springs back when the coil of the magnet l ceases to becharged. This armature is furnishedfwith a small spring, t, which bearsagainst a pin in the board, for the purpose of throwing the armatureback.` i

The wires a, a2, and d and battery D constitute the bell-circuit, (shownin red,) which is closed when the armature f is in the position seen inFig. 2, and the bellis rung, as bef fore explained.

From one pole of thc battery E the wire h is led to the magnet 1, andfrom the opposite end of the coil of this magnet other wires and springscomplete the circuit, as will be hereinafter explained, the wire gentering the opposite pole of this battery. These wires, with thesprings and boxes to be described and the battery E, constitute theindicator circuit. (Shown in blue.) "When this circuit is closed themagnet 1 is made, and its armature j' is drawn up to it. This breaks thebell-circuit, as explained; but when the current through the coil of thelnagnet 1 is broken the armaturef is thrown back by its spring t' intocontact with the staple e, and the bell-circuit is completed. A smallshield, k, on the end of the armature, f, covers a letter, A, attachedto the upper side of the board whenever it is drawn up to its magnet,and discloses the letter whenever the armature is thrown back by itsspring. Thus the bell is rung and a letter indicating the room isexposed to view eachV time the indicator-circuitis broken. The man-nerin which this circuit is broken or closed by the opening or shutting ofa door or window will now be explained.

In the door-frame G, Figs. 1 and 3, (ou the side to which the hinges areattached,) is secured a metal box, m, the back part of which may beopen. Apiece of nou-conductin g mate rial, Z', rises vertically from theframe G. To this piece l', is attached an insulated piece of metal, n. Aslot, o, is cut through the front plate of the box m of a sufficientsize to allow a roller, 1J, to project a short distance beyond the lineof the door-frame. This roller p has its axle hung in a piece, u, towhich is attached a bent spring, r. The piece u is pivoted at to thesides ot' the box m, and is so arranged with respect to the piece n thatwhen the roller p projects through the slot o the spring` 1 will not beiu contact with the piece n, but rest against the upper part of thepiece Z', and when the roller is pressed in by the closing of the door,the end of the spring r shall slide down onto and in contact with thepiece a, as in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 4 is shown the manner in which raising a window allows theroller p tc spring out through the slot.

I may here state that a similar arrangement to that just described forthe door is placed in the side of the frame of each window.

A groove, s, is cut in the side of the windowsash next to the box m, ofa sufficient width and depth to allow the roller p to spring out throughthe slot o, as in Fig. 3. But as this groove does not extend quite up tothe top of the sash, the upper part, at t, which is not grooved, willpress the roller backinto the box whenever the sash is shut down, andwhen it is raised the roller will spring out into the groove s, andallow the spring r to come away from the piece a. A similar arrangementis attached to the upper sash, so thatv when it is pulled down itsroller p will spring out. Each of the above-described springarrangements is included in some one of the indicator-circuits in such amanner .that whenever the springs fr are in contact with the pieces n,the circuit will be closed, and when away from them will be broken. Thefollowing is the arrangement here adopted The wire g, from the batteryE, is attached to the boxm at another wire, y, is attached to theinsulated piece n, and is led thence to the next box, m, in the circuit,(in the drawings to the box in Fig. 4*;) and from the insulated piece nof this window t0 the next box (if there are more of them) is lledanother wire, z, and so on for each door or window of that room orcircuit. From the last 'one the wire z, Figs. 4 and 2, is led to themagnet] of the indicator. Thus the circuit 'which makes this magnet isfrom the battery E, through the box m, pivot c, spring fr, to. insulatedpiece u, (when the spring is down on it,) thence through the wire y tothe next box, (and so through all the boxes in thev circuit;) and fromthe piece n of the last one through wire z to the magnet 1 thencethrough wire h to the opposite pole ofthe battery E. The wires used arecoated or insulated in the ordinary man ner. When thus arranged, it''allthe doors and windows embraced in this circuit are shut, the circuitwill be closed,the magnet 'l will be made, and its armature j' will bedrawn up to it, when the shield k will cover the indicatingletter A andthe bell-circuit will be broken, as before explained. But on the openingof a door or window the spring r will move out ot contact with the piecen', and the indicatorcircuit will be broken, when the coil l will ceaseto be a magnet, its armature will be thrown back by the spring t', itsindicatingletter will be disclosed, and the bell-circuit will becompleted through the armature itself, causing the magnet F- to ring thebell and give the alarm, which will be sounded so long as theindicator-circuit remains broken and the battery D lasts.

The system which I have described, iu which a series of closed circuitsis employed in connection with an open bell-circuit, is the one which Iprefer; but this order may be reversed and a series of openindicating-circuits may be used in connection with an indicator and analarm apparatus, but this arrangement is by no means so safe as thatabove described.

As before stated, each room or entry will have its own indicator orcircuit and magnetv and its indicating-letter, label, or number; but thesame batteryE (if of suiiicientstren gth) may be embraced in all thecircuits or as many of them as it is found convenient, and the armaturesof all lthe indicator-magnets may be embraced in one bell-circuit byconnecting them with the wires a2 and d.

The wire a of the bell-circuit-y is furnished with a switch, e, and thewire h of vthe indicating-circuit with a similar switch, f2. These arefor the convenience of the proprietor when he wishes to open or closeeither circuit-as, for instance, when he rises in the morning and wishesto render the alarm inoperative-ehe turns the switch e2, when thebell-circuit will remain open, and the bell will not bey rung when thedoors and windows are opened. B efore switching on the ybell-circuit atnight he .examines to see if all the indicating-circuits are closed.This he will see at a glance, for if any door or window has been leftopen the armature or magnet belonging to that circuitfwill not be drawnup, and consequently they indicating-letter ot' that circuit will beexposed; and if the battery -E has failed, none of vthe magnets on theboard will be made and all the letters will befexposed, andif thisbattery should give out in the night the bell would be rung and givenotice of it. When he iinds the iu'- dicating-circuits are all inoperation he closes the switch e2, and then to inform himself if thebattery D is operative he turns the switch f2, which breaks the circuitthrough the wire h, and this causes the bell to ring if its circuit isnot interrupted. He may then close the switch f2 and retire, knowing`that the whole apparatus is in working order.

As it is desirable to have it in the power of the inmates to open a dooror window without sounding the alarm, each room, or, if preferred, eachdoor and window, maybe furnished with a switch similar to f2, placed insuch a posithat by turning it the circuit will continue made when theroller p springs cutfor example, by attaching to one side ot' the box mand turning it in contact with the insulated piece n. When the door orwindow is closed again this private switch is turned oi, and the placeis protected as before.

It' desirable, two or more bells may be included in the samealarm-circuit (the battery D being made strong enough) and be placed indi'erent parts of the house, so that the inmates may be simultaneouslyinformed of an attack, and thus render each other prompt assistance. Inthis case a switch, as at e2, may be placed near each bell 5 or they mayall be under the control of the proprietor by means of switchcz.

In lieu of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, wherein the closing of thewindow presses in the roller p, and thereby closes the circuit, anotherarrangement has proved, in practice,

. still more ecient. The cavity s is made opposite to the roller p, andof a length not .much exceeding the diameter of the roller. When thewindow is closed the roller springs out into this cavity. Instead of thewire z being attached to the piece a it is attached to a similarinsulated piece, c', Fig. 5, on the upper part of the piece l., so thatwhen the window is raised the roller p is pressed in and the spring rslides down out of contact with the piece c',

to which the wire is connected, and thus the circuit is broken andcontinues broken .until the window is again placed in itsorigi'nalposition.` This insures not only the sounding ot' the alarm,but thecontinuance of the ringing ofthe bell while the window is open,andrenders it stillmore diicult for a burglar to inedldle with ythewindow-spring without giving an alarm, while, inthe arrangementrepresented in Fig. 4, if the lower sash. be raised entirely up, theroller p will be again ypressed in and the circuit closed; and if toprevent this the groove s be cut entirely to the bottom'cf the` sash andthe latterbe raised entirely up, the roller might be reached by a stickor wedge and be pressed in. and thus thc continuons ringing of `thebel-l be prevented.

In placeot' the above-described spring ararrangements .l sometimes usethe -following more simple one: Twof insulated pieces ot metal, d', Fig.6, similarI to a, Fig. 3, are secnredto theinner face of that part ofthe window-frame with whichthe sash slides in contact when it is raisedor lowered. To each of these pieces ld' is connected one yot' the wiresy and z. To the inner edge of the sash,vop posite these pieces when thesash is closed,is secured a spring, fw., Fig. 6, in such va manner thatwhen the window is closed the two arms l and 2 of the spring shall beincontact with the insulated pieces of metal d', but whenever the windowis raised the spring w will slide out of contact with one or both of thepieces d and the circuit will be broken and the alarm be sounded, asbefore.

One mode in which burglars sometimes en ter dwellings is by removing orbreaking out panes of glass from a window. To protect the building inthis case I have adopted the following arrangement: I sometimes connectthe wire leading to the window with that leading from the window, or toor from a series of windows in one circuit, by means of a ne conducting-wire,f, Fig. 7, having attached to it ateach end a small andlight spring-clip of metal, one of these clips being slipped onto one-of the wiresjt, Fig. 7, of the indicatingcircuit, and the other oneonto the ether wire h', the conducting-wire f being carried across thepanes of glass to be protected. I use a separate indicating-circuit forthis tine protecting-wire, so as not to interfere withthe circuitpassing through the window-springs. When thus arranged, any attempt atforcing in a pane ot' glass or any attempt to enter will either breakthe tine wiref or cause it to pull the spring-clips oft' from the wiresh', on which they have been slipped, and thus break the circuit and givethe alarm. If preferred, this wire f may be removed out of the way,except when its use is required. It may be covered with aprotecting-coating ot' some color that will render it nearly invisibleat night.

A convenient arrangement ofthe last-described method of protection is toattach permanently to one side of the window-frame a small spring-box,g', Fig. 7, in which the wire j" may be coiled up by the retraction of aspring, (in a manner similar to that used for tape-measnres,) one end ofthe coil being in Contact with one of the circuit-wires h', and a clipbeing attached to the other end of the wiref, so that this wire may bedrawn out of the box g', when required, across the window, and the clipon the end of it may be attached to the other wire, h', of the circuiton the opposite side of the window.

Instead of the alarm apparatus above dcscribed, l sometimes dispensewith the magnet F and battery D and use a bell rung by mechanical power,the same being so arranged that when by the breaking of either one ofthe indicating-circuits the armaturef is thrown back by its springt itshall let oft a detent,

which will allow the power employed to ring the bell to act. The Waysot' constructing alarm bells which are rung by mechanical power, andwhere the ringing is permitted by the motion given by machinery to adetent, are well known and need not be here described; but in myinvention the motion of the, detentis caused not by the action of anypart of the mechanism of the bell itself', but by the move ment of thearmature caused by the breaking of the electric circuit, in the mannersubstantially as described.

When a. series of indicating-circuits is employed, the closing of eitherone of them draws up to the armature and thereby allows the movementofthe detent, and lthe alarm apparatus is set in motion. Under certaincircumstances a separate alarm apparatus may bc dispensed with, thenoise made by the armatures coming in contact with the magnets be' ingsnfcientto give the alarm. Such method, however, I do not recommend.

Hercinbcfore the letters of the indicator have been represented asexposed to view by the motion ofthe armatures of the indicatormagnets;butitis obvious that other methods of indicati n gmay be employed, as,for instance, pointing to a word or letter or number.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The improved house-alarm hereinbefore described, consisting of acombination of the following elements, viz: iirst, a series ofelectromagnetic circuits; second,an indicator to designate therespective circuits third,an alarm apparatus fourth, the window or doorsprings, the whole operating, as set forth, to sound the alarm andindicate the circuit attacked.

WILLIAM WHITING. Witnesses: l

. HENRY W. HAYNE,

Trios. It. RoAcH.

